Rankings of NFL teams and players are all the rage on the internet. Some make their fans happy, and others - not so much. A recent ranking of the New England Patriots' quarterback, Drake Maye, will definitely garner attention.
CBS Sports' Pete Prisco ranked the Top 100 NFL players, and Maye's placement is certain to raise a few eyebrows in Patriot Nation. The young quarterback, who led them to the Super Bowl in only his second season, is ranked a lowly 61st.
If this weren't so laughable, it would just be considered ridiculous. Sometimes analysts' reasoning behind something like this makes a lot of sense, and other times it doesn't. In this case, Maye's ranking missed the mark by a mile.
Drake Maye is far better than what his most recent ranking suggests ahead of the 2026 season
Prisco's rankings were led by Myles Garrett, no argument there, and followed at No. 2 and No. 3 by NFL MVP Matthew Stafford and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Those rankings are where the rub comes in. Maye was in a neck-and-neck race with Stafford for the NFL MVP and left Allen in the dust in the AFC East. If he's not ranked right with all of them, it's a travesty.
He lost the MVP mainly for three reasons: Stafford was a sentimental favorite, since he's long in the tooth in his NFL career Stafford threw for more touchdowns Maye with 46 to 31, and Stafford logged more passing yards than Maye 4,707 yards to 4,394 Conversely, Maye drubbed the MVP in passing completion percentage by a full seven points: 72-65 Maye also led the NFL in passer rating, besting Stafford 113.5 to 109.2.
Prisco explained Maye's ranking.
He finished second in MVP voting in his second season, leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl. He threw 31 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions, but he didn't play well in the postseason."
The commentator completely neglected two critical factors. Maye accomplished those feats and more, passing with a porous offensive line that surrendered 47 regular-season sacks and another 21 in the postseason. Stafford was sacked less than half that number in the regular season, with 23. Stafford also had a far better receiving corps to throw to, led by First-Team All-Pro Puka Nacua.
Regrading Maye, "didn't pay well in the post-season", a good part of that was due to an injury to his throwing shoulder. That pertinent fact wasn't mentioned. Maye also led an inferior team with a patched-together offense and porous offensive line to the Super Bowl, something top-10-ranked quarterbacks Stafford, Allen, Joe Burrow, and Patrick Mahomes couldn't do last season.
All four of those quarterbacks who ranked in the top 10 had a better team around them than Maye. That, and especially Maye's poor offensive line, should have mattered far more in any ranking than they did in Prisco's.
For those reasons, the CBS Sports rankings of NFL players are flawed. Drake Maye should be a top 10 NFL player in anyone's rankings. If he isn't, the ranking is a joke. A positive in this, and the team's also getting poor rankings, is that it all provides top 2026 bulletin board material.
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